Muintir na Tire School Garden Competition

  This week we focus  on  St Vincent's Convent Primary School who were Commended for their School Garden.  Great first time entry, despite the limitations of the site. The garden still covers some of the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, and is a fun learning place for all the children, great potential with regard to colour and art from upcycled materials.The raised beds were tidy and weed free. We were very impressed by the creativity shown and the students were very knowledgable. A polytunnel would be a great addition to start plants off early. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Vincent's Convent Primary School   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we also focus  on St Patrick's B.N.S who were Best in their Category for their School Garden.  This continues to be a wonderful garden and continues to mature nicely. The garden covers all the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, Upcycling Colour and art and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by the hen house, the wildlife path, the involvement of all classes, the willow dome and the Geodome use. Great use of Irish language and excellent signage.The students were very knowledgable and welcoming. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Patrick's B.N.S   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

   This week we focus  on St Marys Special School who won  Best in Category for their School Garden.  This continues to be a wonderful garden. The garden covers many of the elements including Art Colour, Food Production, Biodiversity, use of the Irish language and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by the brilliant art work, t   he strawberries in guttering, the new raised beds and use of bark mulch from fallen trees. The polytunnel is well utilised and the herb garden is a great addition, Wildflower area/ biodiversity elements (pond) are brilliant, we loved it ,keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Mary's Special School,   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here                                                     ...

   This week we focus  on St Mary's Central School who were Highly Commended for their School Garden.  We were delighted with the good progress being made in this your first year in the competition You covered many of the elements especially biodiversity with log piles, great potential with regard to colour and art from upcycled materials.The raised beds were tidy and weed free and the key hole bed was especially impressive. Unmown grass areas are perfect for bees and butterflies. Consider a polytunnel and or maybe a pond.etc Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Mary's Central School   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we also focus  on St Joseph's Macroom who were Commended for their School Garden.   Very good first time entry. Lots of involvement from many classes and kids very knowlegable. Great potential. It would be great if you got more parents, local tidy Towns, Mens shed to help out, Consider a wildflower strip for wildlife, more colour and art from recycled materials and maybe a water butt. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Joseph's Primary School Macroom   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we focus  on St Joseph's Charleville who were Highly Commended for their School Garden  .   Excellent first time entry. Great food production, lots of colour and art, Brilliant use of polytunnel Fairy garden using recycled materials. Consider water butt sensory wall, and more native flora to help pollination otherwise keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at  St Joseph's Charleville    For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here                                       

  This week we focus  on St Columba's GNS who won  the  School Garden of the Year for Cork City.   This is a wonderful garden. The garden covers all the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, Upcycling Colour and art and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by Garden Club / farmers Market links to local community Tidy Towns, Mens Shed and parents. Geodome a brilliant addition, Tree project excellent and intergenerational Fairy Houses brilliant. keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Columba's GNS   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we also focus  on St Brendans GNS who won Best in Category  for their School Garden.  We were delighted with the good progress being made in this your first year in the competition. You covered many of the elements especially with regard to colour and art from upcycled materials.The raised beds were tidy and weed free. The unmown grass areas are perfect for bees and butterflies. Consider a polytunnel and try get help from parents, local mens shed etc. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at St Brendans GNS   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

   This week we focus  on Scoil Phadraig Naofa who received a Gold Meda  for their School Garden. This is a very good garden despite the limitations of the site. The garden still covers all the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, Upcycling Colour and art and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by the creativity shown, great art work, and use of the space. The wormery is a good addition, Good use of Irish language. The students were very knowledgable. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at Scoil Phadraig Naofa   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we focus  on Scoil Fhiacna who received a Gold Medal  for their School Garden.  We were delighted with the good progress being made in this your second year in the competition. The raised beds could do with weeding and clear bilingual labelling. You could look at more biodiversity elements the back of the all weather court has a natural pond. Try growing potatoes in containers or in towered tyres. Consider a polytunnel, it will make a huge difference to your planting season. You should now be able to start planting in the polytunnel earlier and plant out when weather permits. Keep up great work.   Congratulations to all involved at Scoil Fhiachna, Glengarriff    For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  Choose nectar and pollen-rich plants for your garden There are plenty of beautiful plants you can choose for your garden that are rich in nectar and pollen. Bidens and Bacopa are great bedding plants for small containers and hanging baskets; and herbs such as Thyme and Rosemary provide food for you as well as for pollinators. Make sure you keep these plants to your garden and don’t plant them in the wider landscape. Outside your garden, the best action for pollinators is to create biodiversity meadows and margins by reducing mowing. Why : Pollinators need flowers that produce lots of nectar (for energy) and pollen (for protein). Where : Gardens, pots on a balcony, window boxes, public parks, schools, and businesses. Avoid adding these plants to the wider landscape. Idea:  Plant bulbs such as Snowdrop, Crocus, and Grape Hyacinth in the autumn to provide early food for emerging pollinators the following spring. Or plant five fruit trees to create a mini orchard. Find out more ...

  A new publication to help everyone to help wildlife in their gardens, no matter how big or small, has been launched. The brainchild of Juanita Browne, the booklet was produced by Local Authority Heritage Officers across Ireland, with help from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Council. Taking a very practical approach, the book details projects to help wildlife of all kinds under a range of headings, with tasks suitable for everyone from the total beginner to the more ambitious DIY enthusiast. With clear instructions and step-by-step drawings by illustrator Barry Reynolds, the guide offers the gardener lots of options to help our biodiversity. With increasing agricultural intensification, gardens in many areas can be an oasis for wildlife, and with small changes we can make them even better. The guide outlines actions that can be taken to improve gardens for birds, bees, butterflies, bats and more, and the good news is many of the steps that can be taken ar...

  This week we focus  on Scoil Bhríd   who were Highly Commended for their School Garden. This is developing into a very good garden but is ready for moving when time comes.. The garden covers all the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, Upcycling Colour and art and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by quality of vegs, herbs and by the new hedge planting which will provide great shelter, Consider Upright pallet growing also for planting and shelter, link with Mens Shed to help with new raised beds, a Poly tunnel would also be a great asset. keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at Scoil Bhríd   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

  This week we focus  on Scoil Eoin  who were Highly Commended for their School Garden.  We were delighted with the good progress being made in this your second year in the competition and the involvement of all the classes. The polytunnel will make a huge difference to your planting season. You should now be able to start planting in the polytunnel earlier and plant out when weather permits The raised beds were tidy and weed free. You could look growing potatoes in containers or in towered tyres. Keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at Soil Eoin.   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

We are a growing group of like-minded volunteers who, through science and dedication, aim to help the Native Irish Black Bee and Native Solitary Bees survive for generations to come. Ireland has a unique pure population of black honeybees that arrived here 9,000 years ago.   A study Dr. Jack Hassett. PHD., on the black bee has found that the Ireland’s black bee has the purest genetics in the whole of Europe. Ireland had vast forests of Oak Trees and the bee was a feature of this. This is not the case anymore and the IBCP was born to support the declining bee population. It designed and manufactured 20 “Bee Lodges” to provide shelter and breeding facilities for the black and solitary bee. They were amazed to see one lodge occupied within a week of installing it. These lodges were erected in large trees in Fota Wildlife Park and in Waterford. Wild bees are currently occupying these shelters and will propagate over winter and next year to increase the relevant population...

  This week we also focus  on Gaelscoil na Dúglaise  who received a Gold Medal for their School Garden. This is and continues to be a wonderful garden and is maturing nicely. The garden covers all the elements including Food Production, Biodiversity, Upcycling Colour and Art and is a fun learning place for all the children. We were very impressed by new wildflower meadow, the new raised beds, great use of the Irish language, co nsider more links to local heritage.    Keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at  Gaelscoil na D úglaise   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

Celeriac Why Grow It? If you like the taste of celery, but find it a little cumbersome, then celeriac is the vegetable for you.  Celeriac has a similar flavour to celery, but is grown for its knobbly, turnip-shaped swollen stem.  As vegetables go, it’s ugly as sin, but don’t let that fool you – it tastes delicious. It’s very hardy and (unlike celery) stores extremely well.  A decent crop of celeriac can see you right through the winter months to late March.  Celeriac is also referred to as knob celery or turnip rooted celery. Sowing Grow celeriac as you would with celery, but because it stores well, there’s no need for succession sowing.  A single sowing in late March or early April is all that’s required.  Broadcast (sprinkle liberally) the seed in to a pot filled with compost.  As is the case with celery, celeriac seeds need light to germinate so do not cover the seed with compost. Place the pot somewhere warm (a sunny windowsill or a heatin...

Many of us have pocket size gardens but would still love to grow your own fruit, then you need to check the quality Dwarf and Miniature trees that will thrive in small garden and even large Pots. The Cornet Apple Trees: The Cornet Apple Tree  is perfect for any small garden, or Patio.  This miniature apple tree can be grown in a pot or in a bed. these are grown on a Dwarf rootstock and will grow to around the 6' mark.  The habit is small and open, they look just like a small apple tree, and the fruit is regular in size. These can be grown in open ground but they soil has to be rich. The rootstock are slow growing so the roots aren't able to go for large distances and source their own sustenance so if your growing in open ground ensure the local area around the tree (1mx1m0.5m) has been well enriched and is well nourished The coronet apple trees  will fruit in the first year which is very unusual for fruit trees. It is also extremely low maintenance and req...

  This week we focus  on   Gaelscoil Dhroichead na Banndan  who received a Gold Medal  for their School Garden.   This is a very good garden despite the limitations of the site. The garden still covers all the elements including Food Production ( Veg and Herbs very good), Biodiversity (limited by space) and is a fun learning place for all the children. Good use of Irish language . The students were very knowledgable.  We hope you will be able to transfer your trees to their new location asap.  Keep up the great work.   Congratulations to all involved at  Gaelscoil Dhroichead na Banndan   For more Information on the School Gardens Competition  Click Here

Cauliflower Why Grow It?   Home-grown cauliflower is definitely tastier than the mass-produced alternative. Sowing A foolproof way to grow healthy cauliflower seedlings is to sow them in module seed trays – sow one or two seeds in each module 1.5cm deep.  Thin out the weaker seedling.  They will germinate in about a week and will be ready for planting about three weeks later (when 5cm tall).  Make sure to harden off early sowings carefully.  For a steady supply of cauliflower, sow a few plants in March, May and June.  Spacing will determine the size of the curds - between 60-70cm is about right.  The more space you can give them, the healthier the plants will be.   As with cabbages, cauliflowers should be planted in to firm, fertile, free-draining ground – the root and stem will eventually have to support a very heavy head! Water plants well before sowing – create a hole with a dibber, pop the seedling in and then firm in very well...

Seed Tapes are the easiest, no-waste way to plant. Each strip of biodegradable paper is embedded with perfectly spaced seeds; simply unroll into a planting furrow and cover. Planting is precise, there's little or no thinning needed, and the germination rate is outstanding. A great Project in the classroom is to Make your own seed tape You will need: Any kind of Seeds Zip lock Baggies or plastic containers - each one marked for what type of seed tape it is in it Flour Cold Water Paper Towels, cut in 1 1/2 - 2 inch Strips and folded in half To make your seed tape, simply cut the paper into strips about half an inch wide.  The measurement doesn’t need to be exact, just wide enough to easily work with.  The longer the strips, the easier it will be to space your seeds correctly.  You can cut them to length later if needed. Using a ruler and pencil, mark the proper spacing for your seeds of choice on the strips.  Label each strip at one end with the type of seeds to be put...